Every Mobile World Congress event is a clamor of products and pitches. Through the noise we picked up three technology trends we liked:

5G

Mobile businesses have begun preparing for the introduction of 5G wireless standards. 5G aims to dramatically increase network speeds and make way for the Internet of Things and increased high-quality video streaming. Business Insider reports that 50% of North America’s connections will be supported with 5G by 2020.

Deploying 5G technology will mean erecting small cells in more places, which increases network resilience. One reason we like this in particular is it could help emergency responders communicate more effectively during everyday emergencies and natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey.

Carriers made a few big 5G announcements at MWCA. Verizon demonstrated they can transmit 28GHz millimeter wave signals through windows that reflect UV light. Plus, AT&T and Microsoft plan to develop a 5G-enabled platform. It’ll help businesses more easily manage their connected devices. That’s good news for enterprise devices like Onyx smart walkie-talkies!

Telematics and Road Vehicle Fleet Management

While still in its early stages, telematics (automobile automation and information processing) promises to shake up vehicle fleet management. Powered by IoT and vehicle sensors, telematics helps fleet managers continually collect data on a vehicle’s mechanical operations and driver behavior. Imagine you owned a regional trucking company delivering groceries and other climate-controlled cargo. With telematics, you could not only follow where your trucks are but also their fuel levels, internal temperature, and inventory remaining.

When combined with bot technology and an instantaneous communication platform, like Orion, telematics can do more than collect data. Now imagine your trucking company’s central computer system automatically alerting drivers when their trucks’ freezers have lost power, or notifying fleet managers when drivers are navigating erratically or making unexpected stops.

The reason we are so excited about telematics is how closely it tracks to the work we do: helping teams coordinate across many locations while staying in sync with real-time communication.

Augmented Reality

Virtual and augmented reality are already changing how we think about physical space. At the MWCA show, our team checked out Metavison’s AR glasses to see how developers can navigate 3D models and optimize their workflow. And we’re excited to see what mobile developers seize on with ARKit and ARCore.

Admittedly, business tools that take advantage of VR and AR need much more time to emerge. One of the first industries we’d like to see utilize AR is medicine. Surgical and diagnostic procedures would benefit dramatically from augmented reality technologies, helping health professionals stay in the moment. And since staying in the moment is one of the core benefits of Onyx, we’re excited to see similarly useful technologies emerge.

How do you expect or hope these 5G, telematics, or Augmented Reality will impact your business? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.